"The series kicks off March 8 in Gainesville, Fla. with the South Eastern Regional Championship Series (SERC) and concludes with the Piney Hills Classic in Ruston, La., Oct. 24-25. With 22 races across 16 states, the seven-month long AMBC calendar provides racers of all ability levels the opportunity to contest top-level competition right in their own backyard.

Created in 1996, the AMBC series offers cross-country racing, with some events also including time trial, short-track cross-country, super D and/or stage racing competitions. In addition to the senior, master, and professional races, some AMBC events also host the Alison Dunlap Junior Olympic Mountain Bike Series (ADJOMTB). The ADJOMTB offers riders age 10-18, the chance to test their skills against competitors of the same age."

Sunday, September 28, 2008

"It blows my mind how hot it get out there in that parched landscape of Lake Sonoma. It’s officially fall now so there can’t be too many more of these hot days.

Being race #5 of the series means one thing - the Lake Sonoma Series finale is next month (October 18th). The temperatures are going to drop - closing in on November things change quick around here, and the fall weather is going to be in the air. We’re going to close this season out with a bang."

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Specialized Bicycle Components has backed the expansion program of the Northern California High School Mountain Bike Racing League, which has recently created a Southern California league and is now drawing up plans for state-oriented high school cycling leagues across the USA.

Mike Sinyard, the founder and owner of Specialized, said, "Getting kids on bikes is a personal passion of mine and a goal of the Specialized Fund. High school mountain bike racing is a fun way for kids to accrue health benefits, learn self-discipline, and foster camaraderie. We are honored to be able to support Matt (Fritzinger), his staff, the coaches, and the riders of the League. We look forward to working together in the coming years to get mountain bike racing into high schools across the nation."

Specialized becomes a Founding National Sponsor of the NorCal League, a category designed to acknowledge companies that have made a very substantial contribution to help realize the vision of a nationwide network of state leagues.

Matt Fritzinger, director of the NorCal League, said, “After eight years of building the NorCal League, we are entering a new phase of development. We are excited that our new SoCal League is taking off with a strong group of directors and sponsors. The next logical step is to develop high school bicycle racing beyond California. We are tremendously excited to partner with Specialized, which is a local company for us, in this development plan. Their commitments to innovation and advocacy are echoed in our philosophy, and we really stand behind their amazing line of bicycles and accessories.”

Friday, September 26, 2008

Today marks the start of the Whiskeytown Classic up north just west of Redding, CA. It's a full three days of racing, starting with this afternoon's short track race at 4PM. This is followed by cross country race on Saturday morning and a Super D on Sunday. The XC race features 10 mile laps with 1400' climbing/lap while the Super D is a three mile descent. The racing costs between $20 - $35 depending on the event.

Tomorrow is a full day of XC racing across Northern California:

In the North Bay, the 5th edition of the Lake Sonoma Series starts at 10AM. Located just west of Healdsburg (in aptly named Lake Sonoma Recreational Area), this monthly race features tough singletrack and costs $20.

In the Sacramento region, TBF Racing presents the first CLIF MTB Challenge at Folsom Lake. It's a six mile course that goes out to Doton's Point and back (looks similar to the MTB Challenge courses). Beginners will do one lap, Sport two laps and expert three laps. This race will set you back $50 on race day.

Further east near Reno, the Sky Tavern Resort will host the Sky Tavern Classic. Starting on Saturday morning, the XC race will cover 6 miles laps (with one to four laps depending on class). Sunday will feature a downhill race through tight singletrack (somewhere around 2.5 minutes long).

The MTB racing schedule starts to get a bit thin after this weekend, so please take advantage ...

It is a 2 day event for maximum exposure at the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. Vendors and bike shops have a chance to sell current or previous season’s merchandise. Team/Clubs, non-profits, indivduals, can buy, sell and trade. And see the latest from various vendors. The Cow Palace boasts over 75,000 square feet and a 15,000 attendee capacity.

General Admission will be $10 per day. $8 pre-sale. $15 2 day pre-sale. Tickets will be available at Ticket Master and the Cow Palace Box Office. 12 and under will be FREE!

Whatever you think about Lance, this just racheted up the excitement for next year's Tour of California:

"Lance Armstrong announced at Interbike that he will race the Amgen Tour of California in February with Astana. The news comes on the heels of Wednesday that he was in fact racing with Astana next season."

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Next year's USA Cycling race schedule is out and other than the Sea Otter were out in the cold:

"USA Cycling announced today the 34 races that will comprise the third annual USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Calendars. With the 2008 calendar champions yet to be crowned in the disciplines of cross country and ultra-endurance, USA Cycling is looking toward the future with the announcement of the 2009 Cross Country, Gravity and Ultra-Endurance National Calendars.

Consisting of 19 events across 13 states, the cross country calendar will kick off with the Fontana United States Cup in Fontana, California on March 20 and will once again stretch seven months to the last weekend in October when the Piney Hills Classic in Ruston, La. concludes the calendar. In between, several notable events including seven United States Cup series races are included.

The eight-event gravity calendar, which features downhill, 4-cross, super D and dual slalom events, will span five states. With similar category designations, there is one category-1 event and three category-2 events on the 2009 calendar.

The ultra endurance calendar consists of 62-mile races, marathons, eight, 12- and 24-hour races. The seven-race calendar will once again kick off with the Mas O Menos 100K in Terlingua, Texas on February 4th and wrap up at the National Mountain Bike Oktoberfest in Davison, N.C. on October 24-25.

An update from the folks out at Sand Hill about the upcoming Race for Tara 2:

The Race4Tara-2 benefit race is heating up. A temporary flyer is now being distributed and the sponsors will be firmed up at Interbike next week. Again, www.tarallanesroadtorecovery.com will have all race and Tara info (who will be here this time to autograph T-shirts, etc). We will have an Industry Cup class this year, too, so if you're in the industry, c'mon down!

Until then (Nov 8 is the race), the bicycle park is closed. We are having work detail weekends on Oct 18 & 19, and 25 &26 if you'd like to join us. Practice will open on Oct 31/Nov 1 weekend (10 am to 5 pm, Sat & Sun, $12-practice).

After the Tara race, Sunday, Nov 9 we will be closed for a Collegiate race, hosted by the UC Berkeley cycling team). There will be amateur categories as well so feel free to come race (I'll get a link from them and post it next week).

"USA Cycling announced today the development and implementation of a new mountain bike category system set to take effect for the 2009 season ... The new categories, which closely resemble those used in other disciplines of competitive cycling, have been created to offer USA Cycling mountain bike members a more competitive racing environment. The previous license categories will be replaced with a new system which include Category 1, 2, 3 and Pro designations.

The previous structure, which consisted of five categories – Beginner, Sport, Expert, Semi-Pro and Pro – has been condensed to include four categories. Like the categories they’re replacing, Categories 1, 2 and 3 will also feature age groups classes.

The change raises several topics that all USA Cycling mountain bike members should familiarize themselves with – most notably the conversion process. The switch will be simple and automatic. Members currently categorized as Experts will automatically become a Category 1; Sport members will automatically be converted to a Category 2; and Beginners will automatically become a Category 3.

Members currently categorized as Semi-Pro may choose either Category 1 or Pro designation for the 2009 racing season. When renewing their license, Semi-Pro members will be offered an automatic upgrade to Pro throughout the 2009 licensing period which runs from December 1, 2008 to November 30, 2009. To take advantage of this upgrade, Semi-Pro members must purchase an annual license during this time as this automatic upgrade will only be offered during the 2009 season. Therefore, if a current Semi-Pro member does not purchase a 2009 racing license, he will automatically default to Category 1 status beginning on December 1, 2009 for the 2010 racing season. At that point, regular upgrade procedures will apply. "

Racing: On Saturday will be XC and Sunday the dh with both collegiate and NORBA categories.

Cross Country: The course features a steady climb, followed by about 1.5 miles of up-and-down single track. Then, a fast single-track descent with lots of dg, a short climb, and more mixed descending to lodge. Each lap is ~6 miles. XC will begin at 10am on Saturday.

Downhill: Technical dg single-track followed by short road section into final section of tight single-track through trees. Course time is about 2.5 minutes. Collegiate MC/WB and NORBA Beginners will skip upper single-track and use road instead."

Result and a race report are available from last weekend's Caspar Classic:

"Mendocino has some great racers and Brian Astell from Mendo's South Coast took first place in the 21 mile advanced category. Brian arrived at the race with rear tire that had just gone flat on his motorcycle and his bike strapped to the back. He had no flats or other problems with his mountain bike, and after hanging with the lead group on the first lap he opened up a good lead and kept it through the finish line with a time of 1:45:14. Second place went to Ethan Black who was plus 02:26, and third was taken by Sean Allen who was only 02:32 back from first place on his single speed bike! Sean told me his back was hurting him before the race but it didn't seem to slow him down much. Gabe Cheese who easily won the race last year had stiff competition this year and came in forth.

The woman from Sonoma kicked butt in the advanced group with Sarah Campbell taking first, Ann Boggs came in second and, Heather Cafferata got third place. "

Since this is the NorCal MTB Racing blog, I'll focus in on the MTB Stage race (which are being organised by the same folks who make the Prairie City races happen). The stage race will have two parts, which can also be run separately:

Time Trial: "It's you solo against the clock on this fast five mile course of mostly hard-packed crushed granite through the fun and beautiful oak woodlands overlooking the South side of Lake Natoma [ MAP ]. There are fast and open legs mixed with tight, twisty turns. Be prepared for possible dismounts and/or route options on this winding, wide to narrow single track. The course starts at Nimbus Flat and finishes on a short uphill climb with a sprint the last 100 yards on pavement into the historic district of Folsom." (This is funny because I train on this almost exact line about three times a week).

Cross Country: "Racers will find the course fun and fast with twisty single and dual track through the oak woodlands near Granite Bay at Folsom Lake [ MAP ]. The courses include some sandy sections and a short amount of pavement to complete the loops. The Beginners course is approximately 4.5 miles per lap with 450 feet of climbing per lap than runs up to "the bench" atop the hill at Doten's Point. You will do 3 laps, approx. 13.5 miles. Adult First Timers will do two 4.5 mile laps, approx 9 miles. Junior Beginner will do 1 lap at 4.5 miles. Sport will do three 6.5 mile laps on a longer loop that goes out around the Beek's Bite area, 19.5 miles and Experts will do 4 laps, 26 miles." This course appears pretty similar to the TBF MTB Challenge courses.

The best combined score from both disciplines will determine overall class winners. Costs are as follows:MTB Time Trial: $25 (MTB bikes only please - no cyclocross)MTB XC: $40 adult, $15 juniorsStage Race (both events): $55More details are available at the Cyclebration MTB race page and you can register online at active.com until September 10th.

Thursday, September 04, 2008

"Due to unforeseen issues with our insurance company, we unfortunately are required to cancel our MTB races this year. We worked hard to resolve event insurance permit problems, however we were not able to reach a resolution that would allow us to produce a high-quality event."

Cross Country (Saturday Morning, sponsored by Affinity Chiropractic Center): Burly, lung busting, screaming fire-road course, point to point. We're sending our creative minds out to see what new twists we can deliver to this old faithful course. We're sending people off bright and early again this year. ALL NORBA/USAC XC Racers get a BBQ ticket included with their race. Distances: Beginner: 9 miles, Sport: 15 miles, Pro/Expert: 24 miles.

Dual Slalom (Saturday afternoon, sponsored by Art's Cyclery): Dual Slalom Qualifiers and Head to Head races. Head to head races on separate courses join in the middle for lots of spectator friendly action.

Short Track (Sunday morning, sponsored by Foothill Cyclery): looks like it will be similar to last year's course. We will hold it on the flat course from last year, so be ready for physically demanding race.

Downhill (Sunday, sponsored by Sponsor it!): Sweet Glorious Single Track. What else can you say. Single Run format. Bypass options are given for most obstacles. Expert course different than Sport course.

You can find out more information (and possibly register online, although I can't find the link) at the Parkfield Classic website.

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

The Bump will consist of an XC Ride at 10am, followed with a Super-D type (1 minute gaps, but it is LONG) downhill starting at 2pm, with a BBQ at Hooker Oak.

Some notes about the races:

There will be no Beginner class in the Super-D, because Guardians is not a beginner friendly trail; It is full of sharp rocks and poisonous snakes and places to fall off and break a clavicle and have to get airlifted out and very scary things! But the Expert and Sport classes should be fine, with waivers!

This is a long, hot, tough, rocky race so bring lots of water (at least 100oz for Sport/Expert XC riders), some spare tubes and plenty of food.

A donation to the CSUC Cycling Club will be requested for racing:

XC or Super-D: $20

XC and Super-D: $30

BBQ: $5! extra

This is a fundraiser race to help send Chico State riders to the Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals in late October.

Any promoter who wishes to be a part of the 2009 Mountain Bike National Calendar or the AMBC can submit bids through September 15.

Race promoters who wish to be considered for a spot on the 2009 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Calendars or the AMBC should download a bid application and submit it to USA Cycling Mountain Bike Program Director, Kelli Lusk at klusk@usacycling.org. The final 2009 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Calendars will be announced at Interbike in late September."

Monday, September 01, 2008

Sorry if I missed this earlier, but it appears that there will be a new TBF Racing XC event this month. The Clif Bar MTB Challenge on September 27th will feature:

"an awesome six-mile course that Expert division riders will do 3 times, Sport riders twice Novice riders and Junior riders complete one lap ... We have the best mountain bike course which includes 6 miles of rolling twisting single track, wide jeep trails, some easy, and some not-so-easy climbs and descents. The course is fine for all levels."

You can pre-register for the race at active.com (ignore the location as it says it is at Ranco Seco which is quite a ways south of Folsom Lake). Pre-registeration is $40 and day of race registration is $50.